Itinerary and Inspiration for Creative Travelers

It’s taken me longer than expected, but I finally have gathered our two-week Europe itinerary and inspiration for creative travelers. (You may want to remember that I’m an artist and not a seasoned travel planner.) Our trip went smoothly, but next time I’ll do a little extra planning ahead of time. My preferred way to travel is to arrive at a destination, look around, and decide what to do next. This plan is not the best for August in London, especially.

If you’d like to skip the long read, you can have the highlights from our trip delivered to your inbox here!

At the end of this post, I’ve added a few of my top tips and things I recommend taking along!

London, UK

Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster

We began our trip by exploring some of London’s most iconic sights, starting with the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace. Although we arrived at the front gate an hour before the ceremony, we decided not to stay there for front-row spots because it was a warm, sunny day, and we didn’t want to wait in the full sun. Instead, we strolled through St. James Park, enjoyed some time at the playground, and treated ourselves to ice cream and waffles. Then, we headed over to Wellington Barracks to watch the beginning of the ceremony. After the procession left, we walked back through the park, arriving just in time to see the guards depart Buckingham Palace and catch the end of the ceremony.

After Buckingham, we walked past the Cavalry Museum and through the busy streets of London to see Big Ben and Westminster Abby. When they say London is busy in August, no one is kidding! After a few stops, we headed for Covent Gardens to watch the street performers and look through the shops there. This was a favorite stop for the boys, who were happily entertained by the performances (though the three we happened to see were a little… lacking in talent…) We had a late lunch at Punch & Judy – the balcony would be the perfect place to watch street performers, which is why we chose it. Unfortunately, they don’t allow kids on the balcony so we ate inside.

We’d heard about Hamleys toy store from a friend who recommended it for our kids, so we decided to take the bus there. A word of caution: if you visit on a Wednesday in August, be prepared for it to be incredibly crowded! The chaos was overwhelming, so we quickly explored each floor and made a swift exit.

Liberty London

The one ‘Must Visit’ location on my list for London was Liberty London – and it was possibly my favorite stop! I’m already planning a return visit when I can go without the boys (who were not at all excited to shop there) so I can look at everything on every floor. I only had a few minutes while they waited so I walked through the fabric and home goods departments and nearly cried at how beautiful everything was! (The tears may have also been jet lag since our visit was on day one of our trip.) Liberty London is located in an old department store building built with timbers from ships and the architecture is as beautiful as their patterns – read more about their story here. A definite must-visit in London for a surface designer!

Kensington Palace, Gardens and Harrods

The goal for our second day in London was low-key and less crowded. We were still dealing with jetlag and reeling from the crowds, so we walked to Kensington Palace. The palace and gardens are beautiful, and although we didn’t go inside, I had read about the Princess Diana playground there and my 12-year-old was intrigued. A playground that adults can only enter if attended by a kid? Yes, please! The gardens at Kensington are extensive, so although it was busy, it didn’t feel crowded. After checking out the playground, we walked to the Diana Memorial Fountain, which was another favorite London stop.

By the time we had walked through the park, I realized we were only a couple of blocks from Harrods department store (another place I wanted to visit), so we walked by on the way back to our flat. I forgot to factor in my boys’ dislike for stores and crowds, so once again, I had about 10 minutes before they were ready to leave. So much for shopping plans!

Tower of London

On our last day in London, we still had a few landmarks to visit. We took the train to Tower Bridge, which the boys were excited about because they had seen it in Minecraft. Next, we booked tickets to the Tower of London, and the Beefeater tour turned out to be another highlight of our trip! The tower’s history, though not exactly pleasant given its past as a prison, was captivating and marked the beginning of our historical exploration during the trip. (Much more history to follow in Belgium!)

We stopped for a late lunch at Coppa Club, a great restaurant on the Thames with a view of the skyline and outdoor globes you can reserve if you plan in advance, which we did not know to do. If you do go, which I recommend, try the Slow-cooked Beef Shin Ragu Pasta – it was delicious!

Looking for less crowded spots in London, we headed to St. Dunstan in the East, a Wren church that was destroyed in the fire of London and then bombed during WWI. It’s now a quiet and very beautiful garden in the heart of the city.

From the garden, it was a short walk to the Garden at 120, a rooftop garden with a great view of London and beautiful flowers and a great place for an afternoon reprieve from the city. Worn out from a day of walking, we took the train back to our flat to pack for our train ride through the Channel Tunnel to Lille, France the next morning.

Tip: We stayed just around the corner from an M&S grocery store, and stopped in at least once a day during our trip! The food was good, and having a kitchen in our flat made it possible to eat in when the boys were tired after a long day as a tourist.

We also had breakfast and coffee twice at Paul in London – excellent pastries and lattes!

Belgium

Saturday morning we took the train through the channel tunnel from London to Lille, France. At the train station in Lille, we rented a car and drove to Roeselare, Belgium to stay with friends for several days. The first days here were spent at their house, visiting and relaxing after a few busy days in London. Then the real history lessons began!

History and the Beach

Our host in Belgium is also a tour guide and a WW1&2 history expert. Our first tourist stop in Belgium was to see the launch site of the V1 flying bomb. You can read more about it here. A quiet walk in the woods here leads to several bunkers, the ruins of the launch ramp (aimed directly at London), and the steam rooms, etc. required for the launch site.

Our second stop was the huge German bunker at La Coupole, where the Germans planned to build miles of underground storage for V2 bombs. they were thwarted, however, by heavy bombing of the train lines and the surrounding area by the Allied forces. It was 95° F the day we visited, but inside the bunkers, it was chilly (plan ahead and bring a sweatshirt if you visit in the summer!)!

Our last stop of the day was the beach at Wissant, France—a charming seaside town, though we only made a beeline for the beach. In the distance, we could see the UK until the fog rolled in. The day was unusually hot for the area, so the beach was crowded when we arrived. However, around 6 PM, most visitors left for dinner, and we soon had a slice of the beach all to ourselves. The view from the cliffs overlooking the beach was absolutely stunning!

On our next trip, my dream is to rent a car again and drive through the small towns along the coast of France and skip the major cities! (Other than a few places I’d like to revisit.)

Bruges

Ahh, beautiful, medieval Bruges! From quaint canals to narrow medieval streets, chocolate and meringue shops, Belgian fries for lunch, and a stop at the comic book store for a couple of the boys’ favorites: Asterix and Obelix – there’s something in Bruges for everyone! I recommend taking a river tour (the jokes are corny and you’ll hear them in at least three languages) but the sights are worth it! We had hoped to climb the bell tower, but tickets were sold out for the day, so if it’s on your bucket list, it’s best to plan ahead!

Ypres WWI History Tour

Our final day was spent on an immersive, full-day tour of the WWI battle sites and memorials around Ypres. We learned more than any history class could have taught us, and while it was difficult to imagine the atrocities that took place where we stood, the experience made the history feel much more real.

some fields, like this one, are still so full of artillery from the wars that they can’t be plowed. We toured the replicas of the German trenches – dug just as they were originally in the location of the German front lines. The boys didn’t stay to listen to the history lesson here – they were off on their own acorn war adventures in the trenches.

We visited the Pool of Peace, a serene crater formed by an Allied mine explosion against the German front lines. Our final stop before the cemetery and Ypres was to visit the Brothers in Arms monument – a heartbreaking monument to the brothers who were lost in the wars. You can read more about it here.

We ended the day in Ypres at the Menin gate, where they still play the Last Post every evening at 8 in honor of the Allied Army soldiers who were lost defending and regaining Ypres from the German army. After a day of seeing all that had happened here, I cried while listening to the sound of the trumpets echoing under the stone gate.

If you visit Ypres and are looking for a really good pizza spot, try Captain Cook – we hoped to finish our meal before the Last Post ceremony at 8, but because of our late start, we were only halfway through our meal at 7:50. They graciously let our table of 9 leave to watch the Last Call and then come back to finish our meal and pay. And the pizza was delicious – try the Caprese Pizza!

On to Paris

Versailles

I’ll say this about several locations, but this was one of the highlights of our time in Paris! Since taking art history in college, I’ve wanted to see the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles for years! And it finally happened – it’s gorgeous by the way. And all the ladies are dressed up to take pictures or have their picture taken here (well, most anyway!). There was much more of the palace to see, but the boys were restless and hungry, so after seeing the highlights we headed out to the gardens and made our way to the fountains.

Ah, the fountains at Versailles – truly magical! The fountains are set to music and the experience is so good, we stayed and watched the same performance several times over. It’s especially delightful if you love Handel and other classical music!

And if you love flowers (and I’d say there’s a good chance you do if you’re here and reading this blog), there are plenty to go around at Versailles!

We didn’t even make it to the Petit Trianon – we’ll save that for next time!

Versailles was the one place where we bought tickets ahead of time! (However, please know that kids under 18 don’t require a ticket, so we accidentally made an extra donation to the palace by buying four tickets…)

Our ‘Walking Tour of Paris’

Today we walked. From our flat in the 16th Arrondissement, we walked a mile to the Arc de Triomphe and got tickets to climb to the top. It was quite fun to see the city stretch out in all directions around us and make our plan for the rest of the day.

From the Arc de Triomphe, we walked down Champs L’Eyse and did a little window shopping on our way to see the Louvre and Notre Dame. We got crepes along the way, but unfortunately – I don’t remember the name of the cafe!

Sadly, Notre Dame isn’t scheduled to re-open until December this year, so we’ll have to add that to the list of things to do next time! (And a visit to Musee Orangerie because I couldn’t get tickets.) At about that time, it started to rain and we were still three miles from our flat, so we stopped for dinner – McDonald’s for the boys, who wanted hamburgers, and onion soup and lasagna for us at …. Honestly – this dinner choice was one of convenience! Our only requirement was proximity and a covered patio area to escape the rain for a few minutes! Once the rain let up, we walked back to our flat along the Seine and stopped briefly to admire the Eiffel Tower along the way – because it’s a requirement in Paris! 😉

Eiffel Tower

We spent the better part of Sunday visiting new friends outside of Paris, so we didn’t do much sightseeing that day. However, we did decide to take a chance on getting last-minute tickets to go up the Eiffel Tower. (Theme: don’t be like me and please plan ahead!) We walked up at 9 pm and although the top level was closed because it was full already, we did get tickets to take the stairs to the second level. Success!!

Sacre Cour and More Walking

On our last day in Paris, we walked to Sacre Cour and Montremart. We did far more walking in Paris than in London for two reasons – 1. The boys were not as jet lagged and, surprisingly enough, enjoyed walking and scoping out the area, and 2. The trains cost more here than in London. Not a lot, but a little extra x4 adds up and the weather was perfect for walking, so we did!

After Sacre Cour, we were hungry, and I had hoped to settle into a little cafe off the streets nearby, but they were either busy or closed (early afternoon), so we walked on until we passed the cutest place, La Moulin de la Galette, where the waiter out front chatted and cheerfully convinced the boys that their kids’ menu was fantastic and they served the best chocolate mousse around. Happily, it turned out to be one of our favorite meals on the trip! And he was right about the chocolate mousse. Our youngest turned down his advice and asked for chocolate ice cream instead, so we got a good laugh when the waiter brought out Z’s tiny dish of ice cream and L’s generous portion of chocolate mousse (in case he decided to share, he said). Lesson: always take the recommendation of your host! We handed the waiter a credit card to pay for our meal and he sternly admonished us about doing so, saying that at one restaurant, a couple lost 5,000 euros before they found out and stopped the credit card. Not the best way to go broke, is it?

Other Notes from Paris

We stayed just around the corner from a boulangerie and patisserie, Maison Desgranges, and we had baguettes, croissants, and other pastries almost every morning (all but the last day since they were closed on Tuesdays). If you’re in the area, I highly recommend it!

Another dinner recommendation, if you need something quick and tasty – O’Berlinois kebab restaurant.

Travel Tips

Resources and Apps:

City Mapper: App or Website. The MVP of our trip! Plug in your starting location and destination and the app will provide all the options for getting from Point A to Point B including travel time and costs. We used this app everywhere we went and it made public transportation so much easier! Thanks to Kirsty at the Earl’s Court train station for sharing this app with us!

Tickets and Tours: Don’t be like me – August is busy and tickets to attractions sell out. We were able to get last-minute tickets to several places, but if you know how to plan ahead (I need to learn!), it’s best to reserve your tickets ahead of time. Also, be careful where you buy your tickets – we came across several websites that looked suspiciously like a scam. I think it’s best to buy directly from the museum or attraction or verify your source.

Oyster Card: In London, we bought an Oyster Card at the train station on our first day for each of the boys and had a staff member there set it up so the boys paid half-price fare. Andy and I used our contactless credit cards to pay for our fare – once we learned the ropes, public transportation was a breeze. (Except when the trains were packed and there was not a hint of a breeze!)

Take Along:

This isn’t a full packing list, but I’m sharing these few things that made our trip so much smoother and easier!

Tripod – I didn’t use it as much as I hoped – I have a hard time setting up a tripod to take pictures in the middle of a crowd and there were a lot of crowds during our visit! But I did use this handy little tripod to take a family photo in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Quince Bag – I carried this almost every day on our trip! It holds a surprising amount and has an inside zip pocket (perfect for passports) a zippered main compartment and I wore it as a crossbody most of the time and had no trouble from pickpockets (which was one of my biggest concerns!) It held a jacket, tripod, camera, phone charger, water bottle, snacks – and several other things I didn’t actually need to carry along…

Adapters – The UK and EU require different adapters (thankfully a little Amazon research made me aware of this!) I took this one for the UK and this one for the EU. I actually could have used two of each for our family of four!

Portable Charger – I don’t have a recommendation, since mine only got me an extra half charge each day (talk about living on the edge when you’re the only navigator and your phone is on low battery!). But I do recommend getting a good one to take along!

Laundry Detergent Sheets – The last flat we stayed in didn’t provide laundry detergent with the laundry services, so having these soap sheets along saved the day! They’re also handy for washing out clothing in the sink if needed (and it was needed once or twice!).

Sketchbook – Always travel with a sketchbook handy! I like this brand and they offer several sizes.

Backpack – I packed for our two-week vacation, including my laptop in this backpack and it served me well!

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